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As a copywriter, one of the most common enquiries I receive is, “I need SEO copywriting for my website.” That's great. In today’s digital age, business owners and marketing professionals are recognising the critical importance of getting their websites to the top of Google’s rankings through organic means.

What happens next though, is quite often an almost universal reply of “SEO copywriting is expensive!”

Or is it?

While it’s true that SEO copywriting costs more than regular copywriting work, there’s also a good reason for that. I’ll skip all the “it takes more time, knowledge, skill and expertise to do SEO-specific copywriting” lines and just give you the primary reason why you will want to pay a premium for SEO copywriting:

I make more money for you. A lot more.

Your website needs more traffic. More traffic means more leads, which leads to more sales. While pay-per-click strategies such as Google’s AdWords are effective, these strategies’ longevity only lasts as long as your wallet remains open (which may not be very long, as these strategies are substantial daily investments).

What’s more, you don’t want just any traffic travelling to your site. You’ll want the right type of traffic. As a professional SEO copywriter, part of my job is to do keyword research – to find out what words (i.e. search terms) people are searching with, and angle your website copy (text) to draw those markets toward your site. I’ll find the ideal combination of specific keywords and phrases that make up the majority of online searches and advise you on it. Why are these specific keywords and phrases so important? Because they’ll attract visitors that are interested in your products and services (so you won’t end up with a large volume of traffic that lands on your home page, then promptly leaves in 15 seconds).

As an SEO copywriter, my expertise is crafting stories that includes your keywords and phrases, woven intricately into your site’s pages. Sure, there are cheaper and less skilled writers who can inject keywords into your text, or worse, around your text as lazy meta tags – but you won’t get far with real visitors (and even Google’s surprisingly intelligent bots) with sloppy “SEO enhancements” like these.

What I’m saying is simply – when you’re hiring an SEO copywriter, you’re getting a lot more than a “writer”. You’re investing in a professional who’s a savvy salesperson (who knows how to sell your company, products and services to your customers – probably as well as any of your top salespeople) with a targeted plan for attracting the customers you need, to your website.

Remember that whatever you’re paying for SEO copywriting, is miniscule compared to the return on investment that you will receive. This is a once-in-a-website’s-lifetime investment, so allocate your marketing budget where it counts and earn (a whole lot) more by engaging a professional SEO copywriter.

So you’ve set up a company, are developing a spanking new website and are now focusing on one of the most important aspects of digital marketing – getting your website to the top of Google’s rankings. After all, that’s the one that everyone clicks on.

Swimming through the ocean of information on search engine optimisation (SEO) copywriting can be tricky though. The rules of SEO change quicker than the seasons and unless you’re up-to-date, the information you’re reading could already be outdated.

The easiest solution? Engage a freelance copywriter who is skilled in the science of SEO. Yes, I said it, the “Science of SEO”. Of course, there will be freelance writers who are themselves, utilising outdated SEO techniques. So, it’s great to equip yourself with a few simple SEO rules.

These “rules” are in line with Google’s business development and web ranking strategies, so you can be sure this list won’t be obsolete anytime in the near future (just in case though, keep an eye out for future SEO-related articles here on www.singaporefreelancecopywriter.com).

3 Simple Rules of SEO Copywriting – The “What NOT to do” List

1.Write in a specific way because “That’s what Google wants”.

Perhaps the biggest misconception of SEO copywriting (not only in Singapore, but around the world) is to “write the way Google wants”.

Search engines such as Google really don’t want you writing in a specific style to please them at all. If anything, these old fashioned techniques were devised to “trick” search engines into giving certain websites a higher ranking than they deserve.

Write content for your target audience, write often and write well. Those are the keys to climbing your site up the rankings.

2.Create really “clever” titles to entice smart audiences

It’s tempting, it’s cheeky, it’s fun. So, why not?

Here’s why. If your target audience doesn’t immediately “get it”, they won’t click on it – and all that time, effort and money you put into your website/promotional materials/blog posts would have gone to waste.

Give people the essence of your article/promotion immediately and if they’re interested, they click to find out more. Here, if your product or service is what they’re looking for, you’ve got a sale!

3.More key words, MORE KEY WORDS!!

Otherwise known as “keyword stuffing”, this practice no longer works. In fact, stuff your website with too many keywords, and search engines will hit you with an SEO penalty – dropping your site down the rankings for trying to artificially bolster its relation to selected key words.

These are 3 simple “NOT TO DO” items when it comes to SEO copywriting. We’ve kept this article short and sweet, because while a “Top 10” list is certainly sexier – these are the top 3 problems we see most often in clients’ previous marketing materials, and hope a simple list will help turn your SEO efforts around (better than a complex 10-item one).